Pretty sure I saw an auto repo go down in front of our house the other afternoon/ And no, it was not one of our vehicles.
Barb noticed a pickup parked out front, but there was nobody in it.
I thought it might be the tree company guy bringing the bill by for getting us out of the fig tree business, so I was
watching out the window, thinking perhaps he had gone around to the side of the house to inspect the job and would be coming to the door in a moment.
Instead I saw a tow truck come down the street and
pull in and stop in front of our driveway and lower the hoist mechanism onto the ground. Then a little
red car came zipping down the street and drove right up onto the hoist of the tow
truck; the driver hopped out as the tow truck driver elevated the front wheels of the red car up, and then took off with the car.
Meanwhile, the driver jumped into the previously-mentioned pickup and took off after the tow truck.
Gone in 60 seconds.
Rob asked if I went out and looked up the street for the person with car-keys in hand, looking around all puzzled, thinking, "I'm sure I parked it right here." And then he reminded me of Gerald, a family acquaintance from long ago.
We became acquainted with Gerald back during our kick-ball and youth soccer era, The Optimists had a smallish sports complex in north Austin, and we went there to play ball. Gerald was active in the Optimist organization, and was a kick-ball umpire of some renown. He brooked no nonsense from players or parents. Especially not parents.
Gerald drove a pickup that had eye-bolts at each of the 4 corners of the bed of the truck, with lengths of heavy wire looped through each eye-bolt. The bolts and wire were there to restrain individuals that might not be initially willing to accompany Gerald when he went to pick them up and return them to the folds of the judicial sysytm from which they had absented themselves. Gerald was a bounty hunter and a repo man, and perhaps a few other things best not mentioned.
Some of the other Optimists, we learned, often helped Gerald when he needed a hand, such as a fellow I worked with at NPC at the time, named "Blue." According to them, some of the best places to look for individuals needing re-acquaintance with the legal system were the various bars around town. If they waited until closing time, the scofflaws were usually too inebriated to put up much of a fight, but Gerald was an impatient sort, so he and Blue usually just marched in, snagged the guy, and were on their way before his buddies realized what had happened.
But sometimes - say if the guy was buying - they took offense at this interruption. This apparently didn't matter to Gerald. In fact, I think he looked forward to it.
On a more personal note, Gerald had a daughter, Lisa. She was in the Reagan High band and Rob took her on a date to a band banquet once. I've got to hand it to Rob; he knew exactly what Lisa's daddy did for a living and had the courage to ask her for a date. I was out of town at the time, but I'm guessing he had her home exactly on time. Just like her daddy wanted.
We became acquainted with Gerald back during our kick-ball and youth soccer era, The Optimists had a smallish sports complex in north Austin, and we went there to play ball. Gerald was active in the Optimist organization, and was a kick-ball umpire of some renown. He brooked no nonsense from players or parents. Especially not parents.
Gerald drove a pickup that had eye-bolts at each of the 4 corners of the bed of the truck, with lengths of heavy wire looped through each eye-bolt. The bolts and wire were there to restrain individuals that might not be initially willing to accompany Gerald when he went to pick them up and return them to the folds of the judicial sysytm from which they had absented themselves. Gerald was a bounty hunter and a repo man, and perhaps a few other things best not mentioned.
Some of the other Optimists, we learned, often helped Gerald when he needed a hand, such as a fellow I worked with at NPC at the time, named "Blue." According to them, some of the best places to look for individuals needing re-acquaintance with the legal system were the various bars around town. If they waited until closing time, the scofflaws were usually too inebriated to put up much of a fight, but Gerald was an impatient sort, so he and Blue usually just marched in, snagged the guy, and were on their way before his buddies realized what had happened.
But sometimes - say if the guy was buying - they took offense at this interruption. This apparently didn't matter to Gerald. In fact, I think he looked forward to it.
On a more personal note, Gerald had a daughter, Lisa. She was in the Reagan High band and Rob took her on a date to a band banquet once. I've got to hand it to Rob; he knew exactly what Lisa's daddy did for a living and had the courage to ask her for a date. I was out of town at the time, but I'm guessing he had her home exactly on time. Just like her daddy wanted.
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